After all, labs are home to an extraordinary number of different tools and chemicals — some of them quite caustic and dangerous if not used properly — and they can’t all be in use at once. When they aren’t, they need to be put away, and put away safely. They need to be kept reliably under lock and key until such time as they’re called for. Lab managers not only need to think about the efficiency and smoothness with which their daily procedures run when considering these issues, but the safety and well-being of their lab workers as well.

RDM has been in the business of manufacturing quality-designed and factory-direct lab furniture for more than four decades. Our laboratory cabinets are among the best in the field and will help you to impose some order on a world bristling with hustle and bustle.

To show you just how they can do that, let us give you a taste of our wide selection of lab cabinets — their sizes, their design styles, the materials of which they can be made, the qualities that these features impart to them and how they can make your lab a more orderly and well-humming place.

What Kinds of Cabinets Do We Offer?

RDM Laboratory Storage Cabinets and Casework are suitable for Medical Environment Applications

Design-wise, RDM’s laboratory storage cabinets can be broken up into a few different categories. Here are some of these categories and and a word about their peculiar advantages.

• Overhead:

  Overheard cabinets can be hung from a wall as standalone units. Or the can be attached to special workbenches, offering convenient and easy-to-access storage in either case. Units of this type tend to be smaller. But we can custom design them for you within a given set of parameters. Overhead cabinets are typically 22 inches deep and can be designed to be anywhere from 30 to 48 inches wide and 30 to 36 inches. We can also customize units to give them added versatility. Including closure panels, drawers of varying widths and quantity and either one or two swinging doors. The overhead cabinets that are attached to racks on workbenches, of course, come with the workbench attached and are made of stainless steel.

• Under Counters:

  Our under-counter cabinets tend to be the down-low counterparts of our overhead cabinets. In terms of their design and makeup, they are virtually identical to the overhead units already described, except that they form an inseparable part of our work counters. Cabinets of this type are especially useful for lab workers who need to have large quantities and various types of equipment and chemicals close at hand for their daily work. They can simply reach down, open up the cabinets and retrieve whatever they require — all without leaving their workbenches. Units like this this are especially useful if convenience and efficiency matter to you.

• Large and Tall:

  For your heavy-duty storage needs — whether in the sense of storing large kinds of equipment or of storing a large quantity of equipment — RDM’s industrial-quality large and tall lab cabinets are the go-to solution. Each of these units is seven feet tall and comes with many shelves and a pair of large, swinging doors. Width is variable in six-inch increments from 18 to 48 inches, though 18 and 24-inch versions only come with a single door. What these impressive units may lack in portability they certainly make up for in their grand capability to easily store whatever you need to have locked away. They are an excellent way to declutter the lab and keep things neat and organized. Have a look at our tall cabinets and some of the customization options we offer you.

What Are Our Storage Cabinets Made From?

RDM Stainless Steel Storage Cabinets. A typical Mobile Stainless Steel Tall Cabinet Design with five (5) adjustable height shelves.

Stainless steel is far and away the dominant material of which we make our many laboratory cabinets. After all, stainless steel is durable, resilient and reliable. Precisely the sorts of qualities that are in demand when the question comes up of safely storing away potentially dangerous lab chemicals. Our stainless steel storage cabinets are made according to some of the kinds of styles described above. And are all custom-designed to fit your particular needs and specifications.

But stainless steel storage cabinets just one facet of the many storage tools that we can offer your laboratory. As much justified emphasis as there might be on the safe storage of some dangerous chemical or some industrial-strength tool, more mundane and simple materials also need a place where they can be put away. For that, we also offer an assortment of simpler commercial cabinets made of wood.

We also make tall commercial cabinets in both stainless steel and other metal versions. Doors can be made of glass, wood or stainless steel. And both the interior and exterior can be coated in polyurethane to make the whole units more resistant to acidic chemicals.

How Can Laboratory Storage Cabinets Hep You?

Obviously, the primary function of laboratory storage cabinets is to offer storage, but you’d be sorely mistaken if you supposed that this simple description exhausts what our units are capable of.

All of our storage cabinets can also be custom-made to be flame resistant, chemical resist or static-resistant. If you plan to house chemicals in any of our units that are either extremely corrosive, flammable or in any way in a high danger of spilling or leaking out, it’s strongly recommended that you add this special functionality to your orders. The safety of your lab workers and the physical integrity of the lab itself and everything in it are, of course, a paramount concern.

Conclusion

Sometimes, the simplest things can be the easiest to overlook. Since cabinets have a function that, at first blush, seems rather humdrum, it can be easy to succumb to the temptation not to strive to get your lab the very best units possible. But given the critical importance of safety, security and orderliness to the daily activities of every research lab, succumbing to that temptation can be a very costly mistake.

The quick whirlwind tour of our cabinets that we’ve given here is only meant to whet your appetite and get you started. There’s so much more to explore, and this has been only a taste of what we can offer you. All of RDM’s storage cabinets are proudly manufactured in the USA, and if you want to take a peek at our full selection of laboratory storage cabinets & casework, we encourage you to look.

The post Tall or Short, Laboratory Storage Cabinets Will Keep Your Lab Organized appeared first on RDM Industrial Products.

There are lab cabinets and casework of many different kinds. But stainless steel cabinets stand head-and-shoulders above any other type that you could possibly choose to supply your lab with. In nearly all important situations and for nearly every major purpose, stainless steel casework brings significant advantages to the labs that have it.

Here, we’ll go through five major reasons why stainless steel casework is a must for your lab and how RDM Industrial Products can provide you with the factory-direct and industrial-quality furnishings that you need. As you’ll see, these reasons are not always independent of one another. Many of them bleed into one another, which only serves to make the case for stainless steel even stronger.

RDM Stainless Steel Casework is available in a variety of Stainless Steel Cabinet Styles including Base Cabinets and Upper Cabinets

1. Stainless Steel Cabinets are Chemical-and-Corrosion-Resistant

The first priority in any lab should be the safety of all researchers and other lab workers. When your work inevitably requires you to keep some unstable and highly reactive substances close at hand, it’s essential to keep them tucked away in environments where they cannot cause harm. Mishaps with dangerous chemicals may either seriously hurt lab personnel or irreparably damage valuable lab equipment.

The chemical properties of certain compounds make it so that human error is not even strictly necessary for something bad to happen. A chemical placed in the wrong surroundings, stored in the wrong type of storage unit or around the wrong types of other chemicals, can go off and wreak untold havoc.

Corrosion is also a serious long-run danger when dealing with stainless steel equipment because all metal can rust. A lab bench, cart, table, or set of lockers of cabinets become extremely unreliable and virtually useless if it becomes rusted or corroded. When this happens, you’ll need to replace whatever has been corroded.

The importance of avoiding all of this cannot be overstated. Thankfully, RDM manufactures chemical-and corrosion-resistant stainless steel cabinets. Our units can be custom-made to be immune to powerful acids that would chew up weaker materials. This is especially important for casework doubling as a laboratory workbench. As such units allow lab scientists and technicians to work and store their chemicals in the same spot.

2. Stainless Steel is Easy to Clean

Stainless steel has its name for a reason. The metal is totally non-porous and therefore doesn’t retain any moisture or allow leftover chemicals to seep into itself. That makes it easy to clean. Its chemical-resistant properties, mentioned above, also make it able to endure bleach or other aggressive cleaning agents, and that only adds to the ease with which it can be kept sterile. Easy cleaning means fewer headaches for those who do the cleaning.

Cleanliness, sterility, prevention of infections and the like are essential to most labs. Once again, worker safety is paramount. For these reasons, you should never overlook how easy stainless steel casework is to clean.

3. Durability

Steel is tough. It’s difficult to dent and just about impossible to break. Thus, even apart from our ability to beef up your lab cabinets’ chemical and corrosion resistance properties, the fact that they’re made of stainless steel means that they will last and last.

Let’s face it: accidents happen. We all know about the danger of inadvertent chemical spills, but labs often use heavy and cumbersome tools as well. A cart weighed down with tools might accidentally hit a workbench or cabinet and damage it, or a worker might drop something heavy, leading it to crash down onto a work surface and render the surface unusable. If your lab has stainless steel cabinets, any damage from such accident will nearly always be minor.

4. Versatility With a Variety of Options

RDM’s stainless steel furnishings come in a variety of different forms. Of course, we create quality-designed laboratory cabinets of all sizes, but stainless steel’s toughness make it the perfect material out of which to create many other kinds of laboratory furniture as well.

One of our different types of laboratory cabinets are sets of cabinets doubling as work benches and complete with drawers for additional storage and a faucet which you can use to quickly wash off chemicals when needed. The workbench surface itself is highly durable, and we can custom-design each unit to be chemical-resistant, corrosion-resistant, covered in plastic laminate and thus easier to wash, or whatever else you need. The cabinets themselves are at the ground level, beneath the drawers. This setup is particularly convenient for lab workers.

We also manufacture larger cabinets that are up to 84 inches high and have massive doors to keep whatever you place onto the shelves safely locked away. These cabinets can be built with standard swinging doors, sliding doors, doors made of glass or steel, or no doors at all — as suits your preference.

Beyond the cabinets, we also manufacture other miscellaneous kinds of stainless steel furnishings, like carts, workbenches, tables and lockers. All of these come in varying shapes and sizes. Our furnishings can help you make reliable and durable workstations for each of your researchers. Even allowing you to customize things to their specific requirements. Thy can help you store material away when not in use or transport them across the lab with ease and speed when you need them. We encourage you to check out some of our other laboratory furniture as well.

5. Value and Cost Efficiency

We’ve already discussed how tough steel casework is and how it can be specially designed to resist the ravages of caustic chemicals. What we haven’t mentioned yet is how these and other qualities are good for your lab’s bottom line.

Physically durable casework can be used reliably and for a long time. Casework with longevity doesn’t need to be replaced nearly as often. Easily cleanable casework that can keep dangerous chemicals safely in check. This also creates a lab where people are less likely to get hurt though contact with something hazardous. All of these things ultimately mean lower costs for your lab, both in terms of equipment replacement costs and other costs that may accompany injured or incapacitated workers.

It’s especially important for lab managers to understand this. Even though cabinets made of another material like wood may save you lab a few bucks in the short run, stainless steel furnishings will help you accumulate cost savings and will thus more than pay for themselves over the long run.

Conclusion

Every lab needs ample storage space. When you need to store anything important or dangerous, stainless steel is indisputably the ideal material for your cabinets. All of RDM’s stainless steel cabinets and other laboratory furnishings are proudly manufactured in the USA. Have a look at some of our products and pick out what’s right for your lab.

The post 5 Reasons Stainless Steel Cabinets Are Ideal For Laboratories appeared first on RDM Industrial Products.

Needless to say, safety is always of the essence in such places, and every precaution should be taken to keep all laboratory personnel out of harm’s way. Proper storage of all hazardous chemicals is, of course, an indispensable element of any lab’s safety protocol. But given the especially dangerous nature of many of the compounds that research scientists so often work with, they cannot be stored just anywhere. Laboratory storage cabinets should be sturdy, reliable, and resistant to damage from the particular suite of chemicals that will be kept in them.

RDM Industrial Products is a leader in the design and manufacture of lab equipment and industrial furniture. They stand at the ready to provide you with the laboratory cabinets and casework that you’ll need to keep your researchers safe and secure. Allowing them to carry on with their critical work. Here are just some of the various kinds of custom cabinets and lab furniture that we can offer you.

RDM Laboratory Cabinets and Casework are suitable for Medical Environment Applications

Classic Cabinet Types

Laboratory cabinets and casework can come in an enormous number of different styles, but the simplest and most recognizable is the humble and unassuming rectangular cabinet that you hang on a wall. These come in a number of different varieties, the first of which is that of your garden-variety commercial casework. These are typically made of wood and are suitable for storing non-corrosive, non-flammable, and non-reactive materials. Depending on the situation, they may even make decent medical-grade cabinets. You’ll be able to store most drugs and medicines in them to keep them within easy reach for conducting tests.

Second, and much more common for labs housing heavy-duty materials, are stainless steel cabinets. These are not only much tougher but can be custom-made to have specific features that may be of inestimable value in a lab environment. For instance, RDM can manufacture industrial-quality flame-resistant cabinets made of stainless steel. Such cabinets would be just the place to store all flammable and explosive compounds. If a fire should break out in the lab, everything stored in such cabinets will be safe from the effects of contact with fire.

We can also manufacture chemical resistant cabinets of all types to fit with your precise specifications. Chemical resistant cabinets will be generally immune from the effects of chemical corrosion, acid damage, and so forth. Thus, if some caustic substance should spill while stored inside, you won’t need to fear any damage to the surrounding area.

Beyond these safety features, cabinets can have various stylistic features. For example; upper cabinets can be hung on a wall. The lower cabinets can also be attached to a wall but can be placed on or near the floor. Furthermore, we can set your lab up with various kinds of mobile and suspended cabinets as well.

In addition to the classic cabinet design, we also offer storage cabinets with file drawers instead of doors. As well as either plastic-laminated or stainless steel locker cabinets for chemical storage as well. RDM manufactures tall cabinets as well for high-volume storage. These can have sliding glass doors or be made entirely of stainless steel.

Indeed, for their durability and dependability, we strongly recommend having a look at the various kinds of quality-designed stainless steel laboratory storage casework that we have on offer.

Counters That Double As Cabinets

The heart of every laboratory is the workstation or counter. This is where the magic happens. It’s where reactions are triggered, experiments are conducted and data are recorded. Your work counter will have a fairly significant amount of space beneath the surface where you actually do your work. That space is wide open to be used for chemical storage. The efficiency benefits to this arrangement are obvious, as it allows you to have whatever chemicals you need close at hand. And you won’t need to run off to some other cabinet on another wall somewhere and break the flow of your work.

However, convenience alone is not enough. To rightly take advantage of convenience, you need to be sure that the chemicals that you keep under your workstation can indeed be safely set there. So let’s put your mind at ease. RDM manufactures work counters whose base cabinets are themselves chemical resistant and flame resistant, as required by your lab. Counter surfaces, too, can be made of Trespa TobLab, Trespa Athlon, epoxy resin, Corian, or other chemical-resistant materials. We have chemical resistant cabinets to meet all your laboratory and industrial facility needs.

Fume Hoods

There is one crucial kind of device-related to laboratory storage that we have refrained from discussing until now. The fume hood. Unlike most chemical storage cabinets, which nearly always house either solid or liquid substances. Fume hoods are specifically meant to either keep dangerous gases contained or remove them entirely from the laboratory environment via a ventilation system.

Basically, the fume hood encloses a laboratory workstation, enveloping it from all four sides as well as from above. If your work at the station involves triggering a reaction which releases toxic gases, the ventilation unit will absorb those gases. There are two main kinds of fume hoods: ducted and ductless (also known as, recirculating). A ducted hood captures released gases at the front of a workstation. Then safely releases it into the outside environment, away from the lab. A ducted hood will capture the gas and then work it through a filtration system. Filtration occurs before releasing it back into the lab, like breathable air. Once properly filtered, the gas is rendered harmless. Thus, not only will fume hood protect lab personnel from noxious fumes. But they can also keep lab equipment from becoming contaminated or damaged as well.

RDM Industrial Products sells various industrial quality fume hoods. All with crucial features like a front fascia to cut down on air turbulence. Or vertically sliding sashes made of safety glass and internal fluorescent lighting. Have a look at our factory-direct, custom-made fume hoods to find one that best suits your lab.

Conclusion

This survey represents only the beginning of what RDM Industrial Products has to offer you and your lab. All RDM products are proudly manufactured in the USA, so you may be sure of our commitment to quality. We know that labs are often home to a long list of hazardous and sensitive compounds. So we are dedicated to making lab equipment that will keep you safe throughout all of your work. We encourage you to check out some of the many kinds of laboratory cabinets and casework that we have in our inventory. And if you can’t find what you need, we offer custom industrial and laboratory furniture too.

The post Housing Corrosive Materials With Chemical Resistant Cabinets appeared first on RDM Industrial Products.

Laboratory fume hoods:

Are enclosed, ventilated workbenches that provide protection from harmful substances by directing air away from the worker and up into the hood. No filters are used and air is diluted as it travels through ductwork before being released outside the laboratory.

Chemical fume hoods provide protection to the worker and laboratory environment but do not provide a sterile workspace to protect samples from contamination. Fume hoods are suitable for tasks that involve hazardous drugs or chemicals, hazardous chemical fumes, volatile toxic vapors, odorous or reactive materials, toxic gases, aerosols, flammable materials, carcinogens, or hazardous chemicals that can easily spatter.

Laminar flow hoods:  

Are primarily designed to protect lab samples and products from contamination by directing air through High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters within an enclosed and sterile workspace. Different types of laminar flow hoods are available depending on the level of protection required for the worker and laboratory environment as well as the types of tasks being performed.

Horizontal laminar flow workbenches direct HEPA-filtered air horizontally, from back to front, across the worktable surface. Workers are positioned downstream from the airflow and can be potentially exposed to contaminants. Horizontal laminar flow hoods should not be used when working with infectious biological materials, pathogens, or highly toxic chemicals.

The horizontal airflow ensures a higher level of protection for lab samples from airborne particulates since the worker’s hands and gloves are positioned downstream from the air current. A horizontal flow also reduces turbulence on the work surface and is best suited to tasks that involve small utensils and equipment since larger objects can disrupt the airflow.

Vertical laminar flow workbenches direct HEPA-filtered air down towards the workbench and then out through holes in the surface or through an opening in the front of the enclosure. The downward airflow provides extra protection for the worker and laboratory environment and is commonly used for assembling parts, inspecting electronic devices, drug preparation, or preparing media.

Since the filter is located on the top of the hood, vertical laminar flow workbenches provide a taller workspace that is suitable for working with larger equipment. The vertical airflow also results in less turbulence from large objects.  

Biological Safety Cabinets: also referred to as biosafety cabinets, go beyond laminar flow workbenches by offering additional protection for laboratory workers and the environment. Biosafety cabinets must be used when working with infectious microorganisms, pathogens, as well as other toxic materials and the cabinets are available in three basic classes depending on the level of protection required.

• Class I Biosafety Cabinets provide protection for laboratory workers and the lab environment but do not provide a sterile workspace. Class I Biosafety Cabinets work in a similar way as fume hoods by drawing air in and away from the worker, up into a HEPA filter, and then out into the environment.
• Class II Biosafety Cabinets provide protection for laboratory workers, products and          samples, as well as the environment. HEPA-filtered air is drawn in from the front to provide operator protection and also flows downward onto the work surface to protect products from contamination. Air also passes through an additional HEPA filter before being released into the environment.
•  Class III Biosafety Cabinets consist of air-tight enclosures with non-opening front windows and multiple HEPA filters that are designed to provide maximum protection for both the laboratory worker and environment. Class III biosafety cabinets are sometimes referred to as glove boxes since workers access the sealed internal space through attached arm-length rubber gloves. This type of cabinet is suitable for working with biosafety level 4 highly infectious agents and other dangerous materials.

The post Laboratory Fume Hoods or Laminar Flow Hoods: What’s the Difference? appeared first on RDM Industrial Products.